Policemen engage in firefight with armed men in Guihulngan
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Policemen of the 704th Regional Mobile Force Company (RMFC) engaged in a 30-minute firefight with an undetermined number of armed men, whom policemen tagged as members of a Communist Terrorist Group (CTG), in Barangay Hinakpan, Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental.
Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, Police Regional Office in Central Visayas chief, said that no one was hurt in the firefight that at the RMFC’s forward operating base (FOB) at around 7 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2020.
“Actually as of this time, there is still a firefight and scouring in that particular area in Negros, and our armed forces’ counterpart with the 303rd Brigade is handling the incident,” said Ferro.
Police said that the undetermined number of armed men, who were believed to be 300 meters from the policemen’s base camp, started shooting at the camp.
After a half hour of the firefight, the suspected rebels fled in different directions.
“We are still holding on different detachments, and I have ordered our police forces there to conduct a massive checkpoints and help the Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) to contain that particular armed encounter,” said Ferro.
Read: Police say alleged rebel killed in Cebu is a high-ranking NPA official in Southern Mindanao
The armed encounter of suspected rebels happened a few days after an alleged high-ranking commander of the New People’s Army was killed in a shootout with Cebu City policemen, who were about to serve a warrant of arrest against Denis Rodinas.
Rodinas was facing multiple charges.
Rodinas’ common law wife, Gerlie Mercado allegedly also known as Tamsi/Sol, was arrested also arrested along with two other cohorts.
Police claimed that Gerlie was allegedly a top NPA terrorist under the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee.
When asked if this could be a retaliation on the the death of the alleged high-ranking NPA member and commander, and the arrest of three others, Ferro said, they believed it was more like a diversionary tactic.
“We believe it’s a diversionary tactic because our Armed Forces units there at the area are conducting a massive combat operation,” said Ferro./dbs
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